Best Kangaroo Leather Soccer Cleats: Reviews & Top Picks!

Modern soccer cleats are manufactured using a wide variety of materials; some natural, some artificial. One of the most sought after materials is kangaroo leather or k-leather for short. In our look at the best kangaroo leather soccer cleats, you’ll not only discover which pair are the top buy but also why k-leather can help you play better soccer.

How To Choose The Best Pair Of Kangaroo Leather Soccer Cleats

Selecting a pair of kangaroo leather soccer cleats requires more thought than simply, ‘Do they fit?’. Whilst you have already chosen kangaroo leather for the main upper material, there are other parts of the soccer cleats to consider. There’s the inner sock, the padding, the tongue, the insole, the sole and the cleats or studs…and that’s just for starters.

Other considerations are the weight of the soccer cleats, how much they allow for agility, do they help enhance ball control, are they durable, are they comfortable and finally will they grip on the surface when you need them to.

All of these elements will be determined by the construction and the design that each manufacturer has chosen to apply to their product, with the quality of the materials used being a big factor. Alternatively, some of them will be determined by practical matters such as the sort of cleats or studs needed for certain surfaces. With these, there may not be many differences between different brands and therefore not a great deal of choice between them either in terms of that feature.

With other factors where the manufacturer has a greater degree of control such as the type of padding they use or the size of the heel tab, you will have a greater choice. This will mean more thought is required as these variables can make huge differences to the feel, comfort and durability of each pair of soccer cleats

Let’s have a look at some these features and what to consider.

Grip and Traction Are Vital

Probably one of the most important features of a pair of soccer cleats is the grip they provide and yet, many soccer players simply ignore this. They’ll buy a top brand, made from a premium material such as kangaroo leather, with great styling, and then wonder why they keep slipping and falling during their next soccer match.

They reason is the blades or studs on the sole of their new soccer cleats are not suitable for the surface they are playing on. It is staggering to see players on hard, grass soccer pitches trying to play wearing soccer cleats designed for indoor courts, or wearing soft ground soccer cleats on Astroturf!

This madness means two things are almost certain to happen. The first is they will not play well as often when they are about to shoot or pass they’ll slip, or they won’t be able to run at the same pace as the opposition because they have no traction under foot.

The second and more serious is that they will injure themselves. Soccer injuries are not always bruises from getting kicked. A vast number are muscle, tendon or ligament injuries are caused by sprains, twists or worse tears. If the grip you have is not sufficient the chances of you slipping and injuring yourself is greatly increased especially as these slips are unexpected.

So if you want to avoid injury and play the very best you can then you need to make sure you have the correct grip for the surface you play on. Thankfully it is very easy to do this as all soccer cleats are identified by the surface they’re suited for.

Here’s the list of grip types and the two-letter codes to identify them:

FG – Firm Ground: Firm grass surfaces with little moisture

SG – Soft Ground: Grass which has had some moisture and where a rounded stud can penetrate

AG – Artificial Ground: Used for soccer cleats suited to ‘Astrograss’

HG – Hard Ground: For use on solid, dry surfaces

AT – Turf: Used mainly on ‘Astroturf’ artificial surfaces

IN – Indoor: Used for indoor soccer

What is Your Favorite Position?

Not everyone wants to be the star player who scores all the goals, and when you consider there are 11 positions in a team, not everyone could, even if they wanted to! The position you play also needs to be taken into account when choosing your kangaroo leather soccer cleats. As we said before there will variations in protection, padding comfort, weight and striking area. All of these have varying degrees of importance to different positions

Below are some basic pointers for the main positions on the team and what to look for in your soccer cleats if it’s yours.

Goalkeepers: Grip is vital to avoid slipping in the goal area.

Defenders: Enhanced padding for protection when tackling

Fullbacks and wingers: Rely a lot on speed so lightweight soccer cleats are preferred

Midfielders: They do a lot of passing and running so a combination of good touch and comfort is ideal

Forwards: These guys need to be agile so look for flexible soccer cleats

Recommended Kangaroo Leather Soccer Cleats

The word unique gets used all too often when describing the features and designs of products and the world of soccer cleats is no different. However, with Asics Men’s Gel-Lethal Tigreor 7 IT Soccer Shoe there is a feature, which to date, we can genuinely say we haven’t seen before.

The feature in question is a raised heel, whereby the back studs create a 10-millimetre gradient. Now we are not talking stiletto levels here, but in both looks and effect this is different. The intention is to reduce the impact on your joints and muscles when you land after jumping. They are also designed to give better traction when pushing off on sprints. With Asics being at the forefront of athletics footwear, who are we to argue with their logic.

As we are looking for the best kangaroo leather soccer cleats you’ll be pleased to know that is exactly what has been used for the uppers. This provides a great lightweight surface for these soccer cleats and gives any player wearing them excellent touch and feel. There is no lack of stitching and stitched panels across the surface of the shoe, all designed to give you a surface which aids ball control.

Stitching isn’t the only element you have in abundance…the studs underneath are plentiful! There are no fewer than thirteen rounded studs in the front section so there should be no lack of grip when you need it out on the soccer field.

Finally, for added protection, there is a strengthened heel cup which fits around the back of the shoe. This is to ensure that impact from behind is limited in terms of injuring any part of the heel.

Pros

Unique raised heel technology

Lightweight k-leather for enhanced feel

Stitched paneling for added ball control

Heel cup to give added protection

Additional front foot studs to ensure grip

Cons

Luminous yellow, pinks and oranges are not to everyone’s taste, especially when it comes to the color of their soccer cleats. If, when looking for the best kangaroo leather soccer cleats, you are hoping to come across a traditional black and white pair then Nike’s Men’s Premier Soccer Cleats may well be right up your street.

The kangaroo leather front upper is surprisingly soft given the robust appearance of these soccer cleats. That is not a criticism, merely a pleasant surprise as that softness will give players a much better touch of the ball. Soft k-leather also provides greater comfort when the soccer cleats are being worn during a match.

Nike has also used leather for the rear quarter sections but here it is goat leather rather than kangaroo leather. This adds a significant degree of stability and durability to the shoe

By using a molded inner sock, Nike hopes to give players exceptional comfort and support as the sock aligns itself with the contours of the wearer’s feet. In doing so, a player should feel comfortable throughout the entire match.

The soccer cleats combination of strength and flexibility is thanks to the TPU plate that forms the core of the footwear. TPU is regarded as the industry standard when seeking a balance between stability and the flexibility a player wants when playing.

The grip is provided by traditional rounded studs which allow for traction on firm grass, but they are also suitable on slightly softer ground as well, which is always welcome if weather conditions tend to be unpredictable where you live.

Pros

Soft kangaroo leather upper for optimum control

TPU plate forms strong and flexible core

Goat leather quarter upper for strength

Molded sock liner to provide snug and secure fit

Rounded studs for grip in dry and soft conditions

Cons

The word ‘legend’ gets used frequently in soccer circles and is normally used to refer to the world’s best soccer players. When it comes to the Adidas Performance Men’s Copa Mundial Soccer Shoes we have soccer footwear that can definitely be called legendary.

They have been adorning the feet of both professional and amateur soccer players since 1979 and whilst thousands of soccer legends have long since retired from playing, the Adidas ‘Copa Mundial’ are still going strong.

Kangaroo leather is used to form the upper which immediately gives players an advantage when it comes to ball touch, feel and control. Four lines of stitches cross over the toes section to add contours to this vital area and promote ball control even further.

The k-leather is a very durable material which many of today’s modern synthetic materials can’t come close to matching. In addition, the degree of comfort a player experiences from the lightweight leather forming the shape of the foot is exceptional

The sole of the Copa Mundial soccer cleats is a dual density polyurethane which provides players with a solid platform and also a degree of flexibility. It employs round, molded studs that are most suited to dry, firm surfaces.

The inner sock has none of the high-tech padding or cushioning of some modern soccer cleats but nevertheless, it still offers comfort and protection, especially with the leather heel tab which is extended.

Pros

High-quality k-leather upper for comfort and control

K-leather also offers excellent durability

High heel tab for protection

Dual density sole provides stability

It's a classic!

Cons

Japanese sports company Asics have a hugely impressive reputation for creating top-quality, high-performance athletic footwear. With Asics Men’s DS Light X-Fly Le Soccer Shoe we are going to see if they can apply this to soccer footwear with the same degree of success.

To be honest, when first looking at these you’d be mistaken for thinking someone had gone into a stitching frenzy. There are multiple stitched sections all across the uppers, including an unusual padded line running from the front of the toe section. Whilst it may be an acquired taste in terms of their visual appeal, the effect it all has on the performance of these soccer cleats is incredible.

Obviously, as we are trying to find the best kangaroo leather soccer cleats, the upper is made from k-leather. The qualities in terms of softness and enhancement of touch combined with the stitching and padding produce an overall ensemble of ball control enhancing features.

The main sole construction is robust and to give added protection it extends upwards at the rear of the shoe to almost create a barrier around the heel cup. The inner rim is padded as you would expect however the tongue could be a bit thicker to protect the front of the foot more effectively.

The studs are rounded in shape but they also have a unique design element with tiny grooves having been cut at 120-degree angles around the stud. These three grooves on each stud are aimed at providing an additional degree of traction and grip. They also reduce the weight of the cleats for added speed and agility.

Pros

Ultra-soft k-leather for premium touch and feel

Raised sections across upper to promote ball control

Unique stitching pattern to create improved surface contact with ball

Heel cup to protect rear of foot

Grooved studs to enhance grip

Cons

As everyone knows the pinnacle of soccer competition is the FIFA World Cup so when we come across a pair of soccer cleats bearing the name ‘World Cup’ we had to check them out. Adidas Performance Men’s World Cup Soccer Cleats are the product in question and once again we are looking at soccer footwear in traditional black and white.If you’ve read our advice about how to choose soccer cleats, you’ll have seen the emphasis we put on choosing footwear with a grip that is suited to the surface you normally play on. Well, with these Adidas soccer cleats this doesn’t really apply. The reason is the studs are screw-in therefore you can alternate between stud lengths depending on whether the surface is dry, soft or even muddy.At the heart of the Adidas ‘World Cup’ soccer cleats is a TPU plate which provides a stable platform whilst allowing enough flexibility so that movement is not hampered.As you are looking for the best kangaroo leather cleats then you’ll be pleased to know Adidas use premium k-leather for this product. This provides a level of softness that not only enhances your touch but also fits snuggly around your foot for stability when running or turning.Finally, in keeping with the old-school theme, the tongue is extended so you can fold it down to cover the laces for a greater surface area to shoot at goal or clearing the ball upfield.

Conclusion

Trying to pick a winner from the best kangaroo leather soccer cleats reviews wasn’t easy. Not because there wasn’t any decent product…quite the reverse. The standard was so high that we are happy to recommend ALL of them. In the end, we had to choose our #1 pick, and it is Asics Men’s Gel-Lethal Tigreor 7 IT Soccer Shoe.

These soccer cleats are designed with a mixture of high-quality materials as well as unique features that will enhance their performance. In particular, the raised heel is very innovative and given Asics experience in the athletics market we can only assume they have researched the benefits of this extensively.

The strengthened heel cup is another great idea, which proves Asics are thinking about the practical elements in terms of protection as well as performance.

We must not forget the excellent kangaroo leather upper and stitching patterns which will enable players to have better ball control and more accurate pass and shot placement.

This is a pair of kangaroo soccer cleats that Asics hope will induce players away from the mainstream brands. They are going the right way about it.

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